I'm Maura Aronsmeli, and this is The Anxious Achiever. We look at stories from business leaders who've dealt with anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges, how they fell down, how they pick themselves up, and how they hope workplaces can change. Today we begin a special two-part little mini-series on envy. Why envy? I'm a little

obsessed with it. And I don't think you can truly understand a lot of

professional anxieties without considering the little jealous monster inside of you. So with today's

guest, we dive into what I call the triangle of doom, three words, envy, shame, and scarcity.

These feelings, shame, scarcity, envy can drive so many of us into a

perpetually anxious state. Whether we're self-employed and trying to make it or trying to make

it big within an organization, envy is a natural human emotion. What's worse, many of us operate in a digital and professional

landscape that's literally designed to drive jealousy and fomo. But if you let it get out of

control, you can really hamper your own work and productivity. I speak from experience. I'm a recovering envious person. I recently spent about

five years being obsessed with two other small businesses in my space. We competed and we collaborated.

Let's say we were classic frenemies, but I let myself become consumed by envy about them. I stocked the owner's whereabouts on social media.

I imagine they never had cash flow issues and that they were rolling in money and new clients and

accolades. Well, it turns out everything I imagined about those other companies wasn't even true. One of the firms

went out of business and the other got acquired and yes, I was happy for them. You know why?

I realized I needed a new ethos in my life, a reframing, a way to forcibly get myself away from

the cycle of feeling envy and scarcity. I call it more pie. Every time I'm presumably get myself away from the cycle of feeling envy and scarcity.

I call it more pie.

Every time I'm consumed with envy and a feeling like there isn't enough to go around, I just say to myself,

there's always more pie.

Wherever you are, if you're stuck in that triangle of doom I mentioned,

I hope this episode helps you step outside the feelings and examine their sources. Remember, just because their feelings doesn't mean they're

true. There's always more pie. My guest today, Nihar Chaya, is a coach, founder, and president

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